Small plane sinks into Gulf; lost pilot contact

View full sizeThis is a file image of a plane similar to the Cessna 421 that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday. (Chris Happel, creative commons)

PENSACOLA, Florida - The Coast Guard says a small plane has sunk into the Gulf of Mexico and that crews flying over the site saw no signs that its pilot survived the crash.

The pilot was the only person on the Cessna 421C. It went down Thursday about three hours after two F-15 fighter jets tried to make contact with the unresponsive pilot.

Coast Guard Chief John Edwards said the plane landed right-side up on the ocean surface and floating, but monitoring planes did not see a life raft deploy and never made contact with the pilot. The plane has since begun sinking into the Gulf about 120 miles west of Tampa, Fla.

A Coast Guard cutter and rescue helicopter are en route to the crash site.